This first-person article is by Melissa Hafting, an avid bird watcher from Richmond, BC. For more information on CBC first-person stories, see the FAQ.
Swallows are an iconic summer bird throughout Canada. They direct and shine gracefully over the water showing magnificent colors resembling the bright rays of arrow light.
My late mother and I loved seeing them scouring the surface of the water for drinking. Her reflections shone and illuminated the water in a way that made my mother scream for joy. She was excited about all the swallows, but she loved the tree swallows more. He saw them more often, and they were easily identifiable with their bright blue backs and white bellies.
Unfortunately, swallow populations are declining in Canada for many reasons, such as the lack of natural nesting cavities, the use of pesticides, and climate change. He warming temperatures can affect many birds making them return north to their breeding sites too soon. When they do, they may find that there is not enough food to keep the chicks.
In 2020, I asked my hometown of Richmond, BC, to build nest boxes for tree swallows. The city agreed and we installed boxes in three parks. The swallows did not nest in two of them before the program began, but ended up successfully nesting in all three parks. I personally tracked, collected, and recorded data about each nest as a volunteer for the city. I also cleaned the nest boxes at the end of the season.
When I showed my mom my nest boxes, she loved to hear the swallows chatting next to their boxes and watch them fly as they collected food for their young. She was fascinated as they fell on our heads.
Melissa Hafting asked the city of Richmond, BC, to build nest boxes to help tree swallow populations in the Lower Mainland. (Alia Youssef)
From June 2021 until the end of July, BC experienced a record-breaking heat dome. Daily temperatures exceeded 40 ºC in the Lower Mainland. Millions of sea creatures i thousands of cattle died in the province.
During this time, several cries of swallows and the city died and I attribute it to the intense heat wave sustained. The boxes I designed were predator-proof and protected the chicks from the rainy cold that is more typical of a Vancouver coastal spring.
With the heat sustained, however, the nest boxes became small hot boxes that cooked the young swallows alive. Because the chicks were too small to fly, they could not escape from the boxes. Some were so young that they had not yet opened their eyes. Some of her tiny bodies looked like leather. I took the tiny, flabby bodies in my hand and cried.
Helpless parents could not help their children either. It pains me to think how distressing it was for them. These swallows invest a lot of time and energy in raising their young. They feed up to 7,000 insects a day on begging chicks, something that starts as soon as they hatch until they hatch.
Melissa Hafting collaborated with Richmond City Council to build the next swallow boxes. (Melissa Hafting)
When the young hatch, they have poor thermoregulation for at least seven days. They need the female to raise them to stay warm. During the heat wave, having your body warm over them, and having feathers carefully selected to keep them warm around their canopy nests, was a literal death sentence for the chicks. They were loved to death in the intense heat.
When I thought it all over, the wasted effort of my parents, the helpless chicks, broke my heart. Losing even a clutch is devastating. These swallows are vital to our ecosystem. Not only are they beautiful to look at; they also reduce the number of insects, such as mosquitoes, that can carry human disease.
In Canada, we are at the northern limits of their distribution, and second offspring or nests are uncommon. Fortunately, in 2021, a pair of swallow pairs had successful second offspring in the nest boxes I controlled and that gave me hope.
Nest boxes in the parks of Richmond, BC, are again being used successfully by swallows after the heat dome. (Melissa Hafting)
I watched as these new clutches that were born at the end of the season in late July came out successfully and moved away from the nest. I felt like a proud mother.
At that moment, my mother reminded me that I lost last Christmas night. She loved me so much and worked hard to make me the woman I am today. She supported me and greatly encouraged my love for birds.
I will always treasure the time we have been able to share watching these beautiful birds together. I think of her whenever I’m with those swallows. They are bright lights that help me maintain a special connection with her through memories, even if she is no longer physically with me.
Melissa Hafting, left, when she was little with her mother in Osoyoos, BC, looking at Canada geese. The couple loved to see birds together. (Arne Hafting)
Now it’s a new season and the project is successfully starting one more year. I hope against all hope that there will be no more heat waves this year. Despite the weather projections, I am determined to continue this work. The resistance of the birds inspires me to follow them. If they don’t give up despite global warming, neither will I.
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